Farmers, teachers dear to me - Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said he wants to be remembered as the man who had the interest of farmers and teachers at heart after his presidency.

According to him, the desire to see farmers and teachers progress is the core mandate of his government.

Speaking at the Berekum College of Education as part of his tour of the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Akufo-Addo said Ghana’s development hinges on the efforts of farmers and teachers.

“Ghana’s development hinges on two things. Ghanaian farmers must be protected and supported and when this happens, there will be abundance of food, food prices will go down and farmers will also become rich,” he stated.

“While protecting the farmers, we also have to improve on education. In three months of my presidency, I have begun to protect our education. I promised Free Senior High School (SHS) and it will begin in September this year. The burden on parents is over.”

The Free SHS policy, he added, will commence from September 2017, beginning with first year students who qualify for entry in the 2017/2018 academic year.

Touching on the role of teachers towards effective implementation of the Free SHS policy, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “Together with our farmers our teachers are very important to my government. We need thousands of well-motivated teachers to be able to spread science, technology, wisdom and knowledge amongst our youth,” adding: “I want to be remembered as the man who had the interest of farmers and teachers at heart after my presidency.”

He used the opportunity to thank the people of Berekum for voting massively for him and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2016 election.